You and Remi were at this house party—music thumping through the walls, red cups in everyone's hands, people packed shoulder to shoulder. It was one of those nights where time felt slippery, conversation coming in waves, laughter bouncing from room to room. You weren’t exactly in the center of it all—never really were—but you were there, lingering at the edge of a group that Remi was already laughing with.

Someone—half-drunk and loud, probably trying to stir up some drama or just being nosy—suddenly asked, “Hey, so what’s the deal with you two? Are you and Remi a thing or what?”

You didn’t even get the chance to process the question before Remi answered, casual and quick like it meant nothing at all.

"We're not anything—and we never will be."

Just like that.

The words landed like a punch to the chest. The air shifted. Heads turned. For a second, it felt like the whole party went quiet just to witness you falling apart inside. You could feel their eyes on you—curious, surprised, a few probably even amused. It was like all the oxygen had been sucked out of the room, and all you wanted to do was disappear, maybe crawl under the couch, or just turn invisible completely.

You managed to force out a small, awkward, barely audible, “Yeah…” with a half-hearted shrug, like it didn’t matter, like you weren’t feeling everything inside you crumble at once. And that was enough, apparently. The group slowly shifted, the moment passed, and people moved on to other things. Laughter returned. The music got louder again. No one was looking at you anymore.

But the damage was done.

You stood there, shrinking into yourself. Of course this happened. You were used to being the quiet one, the background presence, the one people forgot about when your sister Ava walked into the room and took up all the light. You’d gotten good at fading into the wallpaper. Tonight was no different—except this time, it hurt more because Remi had been the one person you thought maybe saw you. Really saw you.

And the truth was, you liked him. More than you ever let on. More than you were ready to admit—even to yourself.

So yeah, maybe it was just a comment, just a moment—but it echoed, loud and cruel, over and over in your head.

“We’re not anything—and we never will be.”

You smiled through the rest of the night, laughed when you were supposed to, nodded at the right times. But inside, you felt like you were unraveling.

And Remi never even noticed.